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NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The No. 18 Yale men's lacrosse team opens the 2011 season by traveling to St. John's (1-0) Saturday for a 1 p.m. game at DaSilva Memorial Field.

VS. ST JOHN'S

The Bulldogs hold a 5-0 advantage against the Red Storm in a series that spanned 1989 through 1993. The most recent matchup, 18 years ago, was a Yale 9-6 win. The Bulldogs had outscored St. John's 61-39 over the five contests.

SEASON OPENERS

The Blue, winners of its last two season lid lifters, has split its last six season openers. A year ago, Yale opened with a 14-7 win over Holy Cross at Reese Stadium.

IVY TITLES

Yale has won five Ivy League Championships, including the first one handed out in 1956. The others came in 1988, 89, 90 and 2010.

Yale's 41-man roster is broken down evenly among the classes. There are 11 newcomers and 10 each of sophomores, juniors and seniors.

HEAD COACH ANDY SHAY

Andy Shay's seventh year at the helm of the Yale men's lacrosse program in 2010 was his best. He guided the Bulldogs to a 10-4 season that included a share of the Ivy League title and a spot in the inaugural league tournament. The Bulldogs' 2010 season marked the first post-season appearance since 1992 and the first Ivy championship since 1990. Shay's squad was ranked as high as No. 9 at one point during the campaign. He is 45-49 overall at Yale. Shay, named Yale head coach on June 25, 2003, helped guide the University of Massachusetts to the 2002 and 2003 NCAA quarterfinals as an assistant coach for four years. Prior to joining UMass' staff, Shay was an assistant coach at Delaware, where in 1999 he helped the Blue Hens capture the America East title with a 14-3 record and advance to the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in school history. Shay began his coaching career as the head coach at Morrisville (N.Y.) Junior College, and he compiled a 20-17 record in three years. Shay is a 1994 graduate of LeMoyne College where he was a four-year starting defenseman and served as team captain for two years. He was an All-Empire League selection as a senior when he led the team to a league title.

DEFENDING CROWN

Yale is coming off a four-way share of the 2010 Ivy League title with Princeton, Cornell and Brown. The Elis went 10-4 overall and were 4-2 in league play before falling in the semifinal of the 2010 Ivy League Tournament at Ithaca.

10 WINS

Yale's 10 wins last spring were the most under head coach Andy Shay and the most since the 1992 team won 12 games. The Blue has won 10 or more games just seven times in the 95-year history of the program.

SCHEDULE

Three of Yale's 13 regular season opponents this year (Cornell, Princeton, Georgetown) are currently ranked in the latest USILA poll. Two of these teams (Cornell, Princeton) were among the field of 16 in the 2010 NCAA tournament.

STORM

St. John's, which went 5-9 last year, opened the 2011 campaign with a 16-7 win at Holy Cross last Saturday. This may be the youngest team Yale faces all year. Nine of the 16 goals were scored by newcomers, while 26 of the 37 on the roster are first or second-year players.

REESE STADIUM

Newly renovated Reese Stadium is a state-of –the-art facility for both Yale lacrosse and soccer teams. The renovations completed last summer include increased stadium seating, an entry plaza, team rooms and a press box. Recent improvements included a FieldTurf surface and new lighting. Reese Stadium, formerly known as the Yale Soccer-Lacrosse Stadium, is named after former lacrosse players Jason Reese '87 and Jon Reese '90.